The US National Library of Medicine conducted a large-scale study on narcissism leading to death. Scientists have calculated how many people have died from selfies over the past six years, in which countries and under what circumstances selfie lovers die most often. Russia is among the leaders in statistics.
"Selfishness: a blessing or a curse?" - a study under this title was conducted by the US National Library of Medicine. It is dedicated to the deaths of people from selfies. Scientists have calculated how many people have died during “self-shootings” over the past few years, where more selfie-takers died and what led to the fatal mistake.
It turned out that from October 2011 to November 2017, at least 259 people around the world died while taking selfies. The researchers note that these are incomplete statistics because not all cases are reported, especially in developing countries. The average age of the dead is 29.9 years, with many deaths among 10-19 year olds, and the death toll falls with age. Moreover, about 72.5 percent are men. The largest number of deaths from selfies was registered in India, Russia is in second place, and the USA and Pakistan share third place.
The main causes of death during suicide attacks were drowning and falling from a height. As PMC writes in its study, death during a selfie is directly related to risk, and therefore, in the sad statistics, men are three times more likely to take risks for the sake of a cool photo.
Therefore, in tourist areas, danger zones must be fenced off, especially in places such as waterfalls, mountain peaks and rooftops.
The study says one problem is that selfies are almost never cited as a leading cause of death. For example, if a driver caused an accident because he was taking pictures while driving, it would simply be recorded as an accident due to careless driving. Although there are many cases where drivers die because of selfies.
Also, as stated, people often drown while taking pictures. During selfies, they are capsized in boats or washed away from the shore by waves. People often die in transport while trying to take a photo in front of a passing train. Many deaths have been recorded during fires. In addition, the United States leads in the number of accidental suicides during selfies with weapons.
The researchers' paper states that the number of deaths increased exponentially from 2014 to 2017. This is due to the fact that smartphones with cameras have become universally available, the cameras in them have been improved, and much attention has been paid to the phenomenon of “selfies” in the world. As an example, they cite various competitions with prizes for the coolest selfie, as well as the fact that with the help of photos it became possible to receive more likes on social networks.
The PMC researchers write that their work is “just the tip of the iceberg” and that the problem is actually much more serious. According to them, it is necessary to take a closer look at the safety of citizens in high-risk areas. This, as stated in the document, has begun to be actively pursued in India, Indonesia and Russia, where they install restrictions and post warnings that this place is dangerous for selfies.
According to scientists from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), between October 2011 and November 2017, 259 people died while taking photographs with a front-facing camera. The average age of those killed was 23 years.
In particular, in India alone during this time, 159 people died in pursuit of photographs “on the verge of risk.” According to experts, such a high figure is due to the fact that this country is home to the world’s largest number of young people under 30, who are most prone to risk.
“20-23 years old is an age when there is still space and freedom for experimentation and self-knowledge. Risk propensity has an age attribution. Added to this is the search for recognition, approval, the desire to gain authority,” said Olga Karabanova, head of the department of developmental psychology at the Faculty of Psychology.
Russia took second place in the ranking of deaths from selfies, fortunately, by a wide margin - 16 deaths from selfies. According to experts, in this case, mentality and the popular habit of relying “on chance” play a significant role.
“As for the mentality, we can say that in Russia a lot is done at random, as Klyuchevsky wrote, this is due to the peculiarities of our climatic and geographical position, a certain unpredictability, uncertainty, so to a large extent we rely on luck,” noted Karabanova.
In addition, it turned out that in 72% of cases the victims were men - this is seven out of ten deaths, although women, as noted, are more likely to take photographs of themselves. These statistics are explained by the fact that it is men who like to capture themselves at the moment of risk - on the edge of a cliff or on the roof of a skyscraper.
Researchers also found out the most common causes of death during selfies: drowning, death from transport, and falling from a height.
“The most common cases of drowning involve people being washed away by waves on the beach, carried away from pleasure boats - and people often do not know how to swim or simply ignore safety rules. Transportation-related accidents are most often caused by taking selfies in front of a speeding train. In addition, many deaths occur due to playing with firearms on camera,” the report says.
Indeed, information about selfie-related accidents appears quite often in the media. Thus, on September 1, 2018, a 17-year-old boy fell from the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge in Moscow onto a pleasure boat while trying to take a photo of himself. The young man received injuries of varying severity.
This summer, a selfie even led to the initiation of a criminal case, in which a well-known businessman in the Southern Urals became a defendant. An unusual accident occurred at the end of June in the city of Kyshtym, Chelyabinsk region. Then the tipsy group of the 43-year-old businessman decided to go for a walk in his pickup truck - and two girls dared to ride in the back of a car that didn’t even have handrails.
At that moment, when the 22-year-old girl was filming herself while standing, the driver of the pickup truck decided to make a sharp turn.
As a result, the passenger could not hold on and fell onto the road, hitting her head hard. Her friends noticed the girl's absence only after a forced stop at the checkpoint. When the police and ambulance returned to the scene of the emergency, the passenger was dead.
As Gazeta.Ru was informed by the press service of the Chelyabinsk Region Prosecutor's Office, the driver was considered guilty of the incident and a criminal case was opened against him due to the fact that he allowed the girls to get into the back of the vehicle, which was not intended to carry passengers. At the moment, the businessman is not in custody, but is under recognizance not to leave. If the driver is found guilty, he faces from two to seven years in prison.
Other selfie lovers, also from the Chelyabinsk region, became notorious in 2015. Then two young people, 17 and 24 years old from the city of Chebarkul, decided to take a joint photo with a 1989 hand grenade. They managed to take a photo, but immediately after it there was an explosion - careless handling of the ammunition led to the instant death of both.
In the same year, a 21-year-old resident of Moscow proved by her example that jokes with weapons are bad.
A young office employee on Yeseninsky Boulevard decided to take a spectacular photo with a traumatic pistol that a security guard had left at work. As a result, she accidentally pulled the trigger and shot herself.
Often, in pursuit of beautiful pictures, young people are ready to conquer any height, without thinking at all about the possible consequences.
So, in 2014, a schoolgirl from St. Petersburg fell from a railway bridge while trying to take a night selfie with the rails going into the distance in the background. Climbing onto the nine-meter high railway bridge, the 17-year-old girl lost her balance and fell onto the railway tracks. In an attempt to maintain her balance, she grabbed the live wire with her hand. The police arrived and found the body of the deceased and a friend of the schoolgirl, with whom the girl went for a photo shoot.
There are many sophisticated ways to go to the next world, but could we have thought just a couple of years ago that people would die trying to take a photo on the very edge of an abyss or with a gun to their head?
1. A 17-year-old Russian schoolgirl from St. Petersburg, Ksenia Ignatieva, was only a month shy of coming of age. Being at the very top of the railway bridge, the girl lost her balance for a second and fell down. While falling, she caught on a high-voltage cable, which led to instant death.
2. 32-year-old resident of North Carolina (USA), Courtney Sanford, was driving along a busy highway, singing the Pharrell Williams song “Happy”. It was only the desire to share happiness with others that forced the woman to take a dangerous selfie and post the photo on Facebook. This was the very last thing she managed to do before her death. Losing control, a second later Courtney crashed into a garbage truck and died on the spot.
3. The next dangerous selfie that led to death was attempted by a Japanese tourist while visiting the Taj Mahal. Choosing a good angle, he stumbled and rolled down the marble steps, knocking down his comrade. The friend escaped with a broken leg, but the lover of extreme photography died of a heart attack. His death was far from the first on the steps of an Indian temple and, judging by the trend, it is unlikely to be the last.
4. It’s hard to imagine what (or rather, what) Mexican Oscar Otero was thinking about a second before his death, trying to take a selfie with a gun to his temple.
The result is predictable: the 21-year-old macho shot himself in the head without having time to take a photo. It’s a shame, because now only a pathologist knows what was in his brain.
5. The following is one of the last selfies before death is simply monstrous in its recklessness. A married couple from Poland, while vacationing in , decided to photograph themselves at the most extreme point of Europe, Cape Cabo da Roca. A sudden gust of wind threw both of them over the edge of an 80-meter cliff in front of their children, 5 and 6 years old. Psychologists have been working with them for a long time, and they are faced with the difficult task of convincing the orphans that their parents were normal people.
6. Another candidate for the Darwin Award is 18-year-old Anna Ursu from Romania. Having climbed onto the roof of the train, she wanted to “effectively raise her leg,” as her miraculously surviving friend later explained. The effect was quite impressive: having touched a high-voltage wire with her foot, the lover of dangerous selfies immediately flared up like a torch, receiving a discharge of 27,000 volts.
7. Selfies with dangerous animals also often cause death. 32-year-old Spaniard David Gonzalez could not catch himself and the bull during the traditional festival. Carried away, he did not notice how one of the animals ran up to him from behind and literally impaled him on his horns. It was not possible to save the unlucky photographer.
8. A resident of the UK, while visiting Wales, was so impressed by the raging thunderstorm that he decided to film himself with lightning in the background. If he hadn't skipped physics classes at school, he would have known how dangerous his latest selfie at the very top of the hill with a metal stick raised up could be. The unlucky photographer did not pretend to be a lightning rod for long: after a few seconds, the very first lightning strike ended in his death.
9. If an individual photo from an extreme place hardly surprises anyone, then a group selfie taken a moment before death is something new. A group of 24 Indian students and teachers wanted to take pictures of themselves in front of the dam, unaware that the reservoir had started releasing water. As a result, only 5 bodies were found, the rest were missing.
10. Several groups of tourists found themselves at the site of an unexpected eruption of the Ontake volcano in Japan. In a matter of minutes, a dangerous mixture of ash, gas and stones fell on everyone who was nearby. Few managed to escape; more than 30 people became victims of the volcano.
The most interesting thing began after a while, when the smoke cleared and the rescue operation began. Having found the surviving phones, rescuers were shocked by the latest entries. It turns out that when the eruption began, many tourists, instead of running, spent precious seconds taking selfies and shooting videos.
One of the online publications calculated that in 2015 the number of victims of unsuccessful photos exceeded the number of victims of shark teeth worldwide. The epidemic is only gaining momentum and the most dangerous selfies before death are yet to come...
Today everyone knows what a selfie is, and selfie mania itself has not slowed down for several years. Most of the so-called "selfies" are made for social networks. We take pictures of ourselves at home, on the street and in exotic places. But some people also take selfies in unsafe places to show off themselves to friends and the world. Sometimes at such moments something does not go according to plan and ends in failure. Here are 10 cases where people were seriously injured or even died while trying to take a selfie.
1. Selfie with a grenade
In Russia, the number of accidents related to selfies is constantly increasing. This became such a problem that the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs issued a reminder about safety when taking selfies.
For example, there was a case when two young people posed for a selfie while holding a grenade. The explosion happened unexpectedly. Both guys died on the spot, and there was a photograph on the phone showing one of them with a grenade in his hand.
2. Selfie with a gun
Another dangerous incident occurred with a 21-year-old Muscovite who was taking a selfie with a traumatic pistol. She decided it would look best with a gun pointed at her head. The weapon accidentally went off and she hit herself in the head. The girl was seriously injured, but fortunately she managed to survive.
3. Selfie with a fall from a cliff
A few years ago, a Canadian tourist almost died when he tried to take a selfie while in Croatia's Plitvice Lakes National Park. A young man miraculously survived a 75-metre fall after the branch he was standing on broke.
However, another tourist from Slovakia was not so lucky when he tried to do the same. He fell off a cliff while taking a selfie and died on the spot.
4. Selfie with a bull
During the annual bull running festival in Spain, a man decided it would be a good idea to take a photo with some bulls. When David Gonzalez Lopez was in an unprotected area, doingselfie with two bulls, the third attacked him from behind, threw him into the air several times and pierced him to death in his neck and thigh.
5. A tourist died while taking a selfie at the Taj Mahal
Another tragic incident occurred with Japanese tourists who visited the famous Indian mausoleum of the Taj Mahal. One of the tourists stood at the Royal Gate and tried to take a selfie, but lost his balance and fell down the stairs. He suffered a severe head injury and later died in hospital.
6. A teenager was run over by a train.
The Mumbai Police Department was forced to create so-called " no selfie zones" due to the large number of teenagers who were injured or killed while taking selfies. One of them was an Indian boy who was walking along the tracks when he suddenly noticed an oncoming train. He decided take a selfie with the train and wait for it to approach, after which he was hit and killed.
7. Two men killed by a walrus.
Chinese businessman Jia Lijun was at the zoo and decided to take some selfies with a huge 1.5-ton walrus. He decided to play with the animal, and the walrus apparently liked it so much that he decided to drag the man into the water. When the keeper noticed this, he tried to save the visitor, but the walrus grabbed both men, and within minutes they drowned.
8. Selfie with lightning
In July 2015, an unknown English tourist was struck by lightning while in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. The fatal blow occurred when lightning struck a metal selfie stick and electrocuted a young man.
9. Selfie on the train.
A girl from Romania tried to take a special selfie on the roof of a train in the city of Iasi. According to her friends, 18-year-old Anna Uros was planning to post the "perfect selfie" on the social networking site Facebook, but she touched a wire with her foot, receiving a shock of 27,000 volts. The girl received burns on 50% of her body and died in the hospital.
10. 7 people died in the selfie incident.
One of the most tragic cases occurred in India, when seven friends swam in the Ganges River. One of them started taking a selfie, slipped and began to drown. One by one, all six of his friends jumped into the water to save each other. However, the current was so strong that all seven died. The youngest was 16 years old, and the oldest was 24.
The growing popularity of Selfies is forcing people to adapt to the new rules of the game. Social networks influence the human psyche, forcing us to do rather strange and sometimes even life-threatening actions in pursuit of likes and shares.
To stand out from the crowd and prove their worth to the world, people, including teenagers, often have to deal with common sense while trying to take absolutely crazy photos.
Check out this list of the most tragic selfies before death. Please, be careful! Even the most impressive photos don't have to cost you your life! Don't try this again!!!
The Spanish guy, whose name remains unknown, loved to film in the most unexpected and interesting places, putting his life at risk. One day, a 21-year-old Spaniard and a friend decided to take a photo on the roof of a train standing on a platform in the city of Andujar. He climbed onto the roof and accidentally touched the wire to maintain his balance. A monstrous electric shock threw both guys off the roof. One guy died on the spot, his friend survived but was seriously injured.
Christina Rosello, a 14-year-old schoolgirl from the Philippines, decided to take a selfie during her break. This girl walked out of the school building and noticed a children's ladder standing against the wall. Ten steps was enough for a good photo. This height was also sufficient to cause severe traumatic brain injury, multiple limb fractures and kidney injuries. A child has died hours after taking a tragic death selfie.
The popular trend, which was called SelfieOlympics, claimed the life of 18-year-old Oscar Reyes. On January 2, 2015, the teenager took a photo of himself dressed as SpongeBob and uploaded it to Facebook. The photo collected more than 200 similar ones. Oscar's friends later told him that he should continue doing Selfie. On January 3, Oscar smashed his head in his mother's bathroom and died from excessive bleeding while trying to take a selfie at the bathroom door.
The 12-year-old girl climbed onto the windowsill in her room and opened the window, telling her friend to take a photo. In pursuit of a good photo, the student ignored her friend’s warnings and ended up falling out of the window. The investigation began after the girl's death. The competent authorities very soon learned that the deceased girl tried to do this several times and often climbed out onto the windowsill of an open window.
Tourists took shocking selfies before they died during the eruption of Mount Ontake in Japan. Afterwards, people were killed by rocks or suffocated when they were covered by a wave of volcanic ash. Mobile phones of travelers with videos and selfies before death, found by rescuers, showed the last minutes before death. The deaths of 54 people were confirmed. Despite the imminent danger, the travelers, instead of running away, stopped for a few seconds to take numerous selfies. They probably didn't realize that they were in grave danger and there would be no way to escape.
Two students were hit by a train in India. Initially, four friends were walking near the train tracks and one of them came up with the "great" idea of taking a selfie right in front of an approaching train. The tragedy occurred in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The friends were waiting for the train, and when it began to approach, they began to take pictures of themselves. One of the friends, who was standing at a distance, began to shout, warning others, but the love for Selfie overcame common sense. Three students didn't have time to jump off the tracks, their selfie ended in death and the fourth lost three of his best friends in one moment.
Yulia Ivanova from Moscow was hanging out with her friends on the bridge. While trying to take a photo, she leaned on the railing and fell 10 meters down. The 22-year-old girl died from severe injuries. A law enforcement source later said the fall was caused by a broken fence she was trying to lean on. The absurdity of the situation is unthinkable.
This selfie nearly ended the life of 22-year-old Canadian Frank Gerard when he tried to take a photo in front of a train in April. According to the Huffington Post, the young man was standing directly in the path of a moving train. At the last moment, he was saved by a driver who kicked Jared while he was driving. A video of the event, posted on YouTube, received more than 32 million views in just three months. You can find it yourself.
Two men from Chelyabinsk paid dearly for their illogical desire to be photographed with a snake. Returning from fishing, they noticed a snake in the grass. They thought it was not poisonous, but unfortunately their hypothesis was wrong. Both men died from snake bites within hours of being admitted to hospital.
This tragedy occurred in the American city of Houston (Texas). 19-year-old Alonzo Daleon Smith died while trying to take a selfie. The young man was about to take a photo with a loaded pistol, but accidentally pulled the trigger and shot himself in the throat.
A Japanese tourist was fatally shot while entering the Taj Mahal Indian Museum. A man was trying to take a selfie and slipped on the stairs. According to the BBC, the guy died in hospital due to severe head injuries without regaining consciousness. Another tourist suffered a leg injury. Japanese diplomats have already been notified of the incidents. Law enforcement officials are currently investigating this case.
There is a current trend of taking selfies on railway roofs. These people want to show that they are so cool and fearless, they try to stand out from the crowd, but, of course, it all ends fatally. Just recently, the body of a 15-year-old boy was found in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, whose identity remains a mystery due to the ongoing investigation. It was found on the roof of one of the subway cars. The last photo on the phone was of him trying to take a selfie before he died on the roof of a train, but in the end he was hit by high voltage and was fatally injured.
On the Indonesian island of Nusa Lembongan, near Bali, a Singaporean citizen died while trying to take a selfie. A group of nine friends were spending their vacation on the beach in Sandy Bay Beach. One of them, 21-year-old Mohamed Aslam bin Shahul, discovered a 2-meter rock, tried to take a photo, and fell. According to police, the young man was hit by a wave and was unable to maintain his balance. After slipping and falling into the water, he drowned because apparently he could not swim.
The young man died on the spot from a massive head injury. The tragedy occurred in the USA while taking a selfie, The Independent reported. According to the newspaper, the incident occurred in Calais, Maine. 22-year-old Devon Staples decided to take a patriotic selfie in honor of US Independence Day. He placed the box of fireworks on his head and lit the fuse. The explosion tore off part of his skull. The man died on the spot.
In an attempt to make a good picture, people do all kinds of reckless things. Even though experts strongly advise against taking pictures with wild animals, people rejoice every time they have the opportunity to take a memorable and, most importantly, unique photo. Officials from national parks and reserves around the world have expressed concern that tourists taking selfies with bears could be seriously injured or even fatally injured. For one American girl, such an attempt ended tragically. She was injured by the bear and died several hours later in the hospital. This is a selfie of her before she died.
The next tragedy occurred in the resort town of Yaremche in Ukraine. A tourist drowned in a waterfall. A 20-year-old guy fell into the water. There was no chance to save him. According to the main version, this young man risked his life trying to shoot a unique picture. Witnesses say he got too close to the edge while trying to take a selfie. He couldn't resist and flew into the water. His body was not found for several days.
Two Iranian girls were trying to create a "Karaoke" selfie video, lost control on the road and crashed into a pole. Their injuries were fatal.
A schoolboy fell from the roof of a house in the Volgograd region while trying to take a “dangerous” selfie. Apparently, his physical fitness was not sufficient to cope with the load, and the boy fell to his death. Here is his last selfie before his death.
